Long defined by film adaptations that have portrayed Aladdin as a
simplistic rags-to-riches story for children, this work of dazzling
imagination-and occasionally dark themes-now comes to vibrant new
life. "In the capital of one of China's vast and wealthy kingdoms",
begins Shahrazad, there lived Aladdin, a rebellious
fifteen-year-old who falls prey to a double-crossing sorcerer and
is ultimately saved by a princess. One of the best-loved folktales
of all time, Aladdin has been capturing the imagination of readers,
illustrators and filmmakers since an eighteenth-century French
publication first added the tale to The Arabian Nights. Here is an
elegant, eminently readable rendition of Aladdin in what is
destined to be a classic for decades to come.